What's Eating Timothy Drake?
by Arlene
Summary: Something is bothering Robin
1. Superboy

Disclaimer: DC owns them

Disclaimer: DC owns them. Not mine, never will be. No money is being made from this piece of fiction.

What's Eating Timothy Drake?

By Arlene

Superboy:

So, I get into the Cave, and I can tell right away there's somethin' wrong with Rob. Uh, I mean, wronger than usual. Yeah, yeah, he's always been Mr. Grim & Grumpy, and that's normal for him, but today he's Mr. Grimmer & Grumpier. Okay, so he hangs with the Bat so somethin's gotta rub off, but sheesh, today it's like he's the Bat in a Robin outfit. Only shorter. And I'm not talkin' about the detective-type thinking or the fighting thing, I'm talkin' the attitude, the growling. Heh. Makes it sound like I'm talkin' about a dog, huh? 

"Hey, Fearless Leader! How'z it hangin'?"

"Kon." Did you hear that? The guy growled my name like, like he's been eating gravel or somethin'. Jeez, he's clenchin' his jaws so tight, I didn't even see his lips move.

"Rough night? Y'lookin' kinda tense there." Whoa. Dude's got some evil glare goin' on there, even with the mask. Man, if looks could kill, I'd be lyin' on the floor right now. 'Course, I'd only be stunned, see, 'cuz there ain't no way he could take me out. 

Okay, so I'll admit I'm glad he's headin' towards the kitchen. Hey, I'm not sayin' I'm scared of the Wonder Boy, 'cuz I'm not. But, y'see, he's probably hungry, which might explain the 'tude. Yeah, that's it. I'm just worried about his health is all. 'Cuz I'm not scared of him when he's actin' kinda . . . dangerous to be around. A skinny wimp like him don't scare the Kid. Uh uh. No way. Him growling my name like that don't worry me none. The Look didn't freak me out. And I'm not scared of him right now. I'm not. I'm just gonna, uh, go an', um, watch some T-TV right now. Yeah.


	2. Impulse

Impulse:

Impulse:

I'm hungry. Wonder what's in the fridge?

"Hi, Rob!" Nothing in there. Or behind it. Or on top of it. Nothing in the cabinets either, at least nothing I wanna eat. Nothing in the drawers except some forks, and I'm not gonna to eat those. Let's see, nothing under the sink either.

"Bart."

I think he said something, but it was too low to hear. Kinda rumbly. Maybe his tummy's growling too? Mine is.

"Are ya hungry, Rob? I'm gonna go get some eats."

"Well, I--"

I go out and pick up pizzas (yum!), some chips, hot dogs and buns ('cuz they're kinda wiggly if you don't put them in buns or on sticks. Mmm, corndogs!), coupla sandwiches, well more 'cuz Rob might want some. I better put these down before I drop something.

"--was just going--"

What else? Fish and chips (nice and crispy! Hey wait! These chips are fries!), tacos, burritos (olé!), popcorn, nachos, burgers, onion rings. Whoops! Silly me. I almost picked up a salad. Back to the Cave.

"--to drink--"

Oops! Drinks! I forgot. Hm, Zesti, Soder Cola, orange juice (Max says it's good for you), lemonade, Valley Dew, bottled water (there's a water called "Arrowhead." For real. I'm getting a bottle 'cuz Cissie'll get a kick out of that.)

"--something."

"Oh, okay. Kewl." I get to eat about half the stuff when Cassie comes in. Rob's about to put some water in the coffeemaker and stops. He looks really, really disappointed. I wonder why he looks so unhappy. I hope I remember to ask later.


	3. Wondergirl

Wondergirl:

Wondergirl:

"Sorry guys, but there's a problem. Somebody just let loose a killer robot and it's trashing a whole bunch of stuff."

Imp has, like, a dozen things stuffed in his mouth. Ew. That's so gross. And Rob just looks . . . frustrated. I wonder what Kon did now. 

We all go to the monitor room, and Secret and Kon are already there looking at the screen. Kon looks so good when he thinks nobody's looking. When he sees us, he gives Rob this weird look. I have got to find out what happened.

Rob checks out the screen and pushes some buttons. All these words flash across the monitor so fast that I bet even Bart couldn't read all that stuff. But, of course, Rob can.

"Let's go." He sounds mad, not calm like he usually does. Does he know who's controlling the robot already? I wouldn't be surprised. We all pile into the Supercycle, and Kon sits in the back. I get in next to him. We're up and going really fast, and I use the quick turns as an excuse to get closer to my man. 

The ride's too short. I wish I could spend more time sitting next to Kon. Oh well. I can't wait for the ride back.

Rob's giving us orders, and he's, like, yelling at us because there's so much noise. Me and Kon will distract the robot, Bart and Susie'll take care of the bystanders. I swear, it's like people *know* they're in danger and they can get hurt, but they still stick around to watch. How dumb is that? Rob's going to look for the robot's owner. Said it's controlled by a short-range frequency so the guy's got to be close by.

Kon takes the front of the robot, while I take the back. I get to my position first, and it turns around and hits me. Well, duh, girl. The person controlling it can see me coming, so it's not like I could sneak up behind it. When I hit the ground, it doesn't really hurt, but I'm like sooo embarrassed. I am not going to let it happen again. On the upside though, Kon looks really ticked because it hit me, and he goes in for the kill. He uses his TTK to rip off one of the robot's arms and throws it to the floor. Kon's so sweet. He really cares about me. I join him in tearing up the not-so-killer robot.

A little while later, Kon and I are piling pieces of dead robot in the middle of the street. I love that. "Kon and I." Because Imp and Secret cleared the area, there are no people around.

Then Rob comes back with the robot's creator/idiot of the week. The guy's tied up with cable, and he's still babbling about world domination or something. Rob shows him the ex-robot. Then mad scientist guy starts yelling and trying to hop around and saying that he'll make us pay. Rob's usually the calm one, but now he looks irritated, like he's so going to shove a batarang down his throat if he doesn't shut up. Rob drags him away from us and starts talking to him. Imp's back with the police and a towing crew for the scrap metal. Secret's . . . somewhere, probably hiding so there won't be questions about her later.


	4. Secret

Secret:

Secret:

When Bart gets back to the street with the police, Robin takes the man and talks to him. I can't see Robin's face since his back's to us, but I can see the man's. He looks so scared. Robin grabs him and brings him up so they're almost nose to nose. I wonder why there's a wet spot on the front of the man's pants? Then Robin lets him go, and he falls to the floor. I think the man's crying, but I'm too far away to see.

Everything's settled with the police, and we get back to the 'Cycle and start to go back to the Cave, but Rob notices something.

"Be right back. Those stupid sons of . . . " He sounds upset. Since he didn't ask for any help, everybody stays behind. In the back seat, Cassie looks happy next to Kon, and Bart's playing with a little video game. Where did he get that from? I'm kinda worried about Robin so I follow. We've already handled the bad guy, so why is he so angry? 

Oh, I see. That just makes me so mad! A couple blocks away, there's a gang of boys robbing a store. During an emergency where lots of people can get hurt, why are there always people who just make things worse? Why do they have to be so selfish? The others weren't looking in this direction, so they weren't able to see it, but Robin did.

And Robin's going to take care of them. But isn't that a lot of people to fight by himself? Why doesn't he ask for help? I fly a little faster to catch up with him. Too late, they see him and they're coming for him.

I guess he really doesn't need the rest of the team. I hang back. I love watching Robin in action. He's very graceful, although I don't know if that's the right word for a boy. It's just beautiful the way he can flip and spin in the air, and he can't fly like the rest of us (I mean, except Bart). I can kind of hear Robin say a few words. Something about a headache and breakfast. I wonder what that has to do with robbing the store?

It's all over very quickly and he calls the police to come and get the gang. Before they can get here, Robin ties the boys up. Did Bart and Cassie and Kon even notice?

"Let's go."

What?! "What?!" He's next to me already? But how did he get here so fast? I didn't even hear him. He's walking so quickly that I have to hurry to catch up.

Back in the 'Cycle, everybody's just like we left them, but is Bart playing with a different game? Cassie and Kon are sitting a lot closer now. Maybe one day Robin and I . . . In the front seat, I use the quick turns during the flight as an excuse to move a little closer to him. But I guess he doesn't notice. 

When we get back to the Cave, Robin hops out. I wonder why he still looks so unhappy?


	5. Robin

Robin:

Robin:

"'Scuse me." I don't know if anyone heard me, but at this point, I don't care. My headache's been getting worse since the adrenaline rush wore off. Besides, Kon and Cass are so into each into other at the moment that they probably didn't notice that we've landed. Ditto with Bart and his latest game. And Susie . . . I'd better move fast. With the mood I'm in, I might say something to hurt her. And I know she doesn't deserve that.

Y'know, I was so looking forward to today. Saturday, free day, I'm caught up with homework (finally!) and I think to myself, why not spend it with friends? So I rush out of Brentwood like a bat out of . . . well, you get the picture. Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day, but I totally avoid the kitchen 'cuz I'm not into prison food. My bad. And then things get worse. 

So I finally get to the Cave, and I'm not too hungry, but I'm missing something. I say hey to Kon, and he gives me this look. What, is my cape on backwards?

Anyways, I get to the kitchen and Imp's already there. Before I can even finish a sentence, he's filled the place with food and scarfing stuff down, which is usual. I mean, at least he offered, but with his super metabolism, I know he needs all that food more than I do. 

Cass comes in with the news and I'm bummed 'cuz I just got here. So I put down the coffee urn and follow her out. Kon gives me another weird look and I wonder what's up with him. Better ask him later. I get the location of the robot and we're off.

Okay, up to this point, I'll admit I was a bit grouchy. There was this niggling little ache in my skull that was starting to make itself known. I could've taken some Excedrin before I had a full-blown headache, but 1) The Batclan doesn't take pain medication unless it's totally necessary, 2) I so didn't want any of the guys to see me take it (gotta keep up the image and all) and 3) I didn't have any, left it back at the dorm. So stupid. 'Course I didn't think I'd be needing it, since I felt fine before I took off. I broke one of those Bat rules: Be prepared. I'm like really stupid.

So we get to the scene and split up. I find the doofus behind the mess and take him down. While I'm dragging his sorry carcass back to the guys, he's going on about ruling this, destroying that, the standard maniacal rant. Finally, I have enough of his noise, and I take him aside and give him the standard Bat talk. Worst nightmare, I'll be watching you, yadda, yadda, yadda. Made him wet his pants. Heh. Highlight of the morning.

So we're about the take off when I spot more trouble. The guys are kinda oblivious and anyways, I can deal. I mean, it's what, nine, ten boys? I get into it and it feels good to work off some of my frustration. I mean, I'm trying to enjoy some downtime with my buds and they're just not making that possible. Another one of those Bat rules is: Don't fight angry. I wasn't angry, just, well, irritable. And since I could concentrate on something else, my headache wasn't as bad. 

Heading back to the 'Cycle, I pick up Susie, who probably followed me. Then we all get back to the Cave, which brings us back to now. In the kitchen. Waiting for the coffee maker. Waiting for coffee. My savior. I should've taken some before I left Brentwood, but nooo, I was in a hurry. C'mon, c'mon, hurry up. Man, feels like elephants're playing soccer with my eyeballs.

Caffeine is a drug. It's a stimulant. It's a diuretic. It supposedly stunts your growth. It inhibits certain receptors in your body to keep it from absorbing calcium, or so I've heard. If taken in high doses regularly, it can cause ulcers. It's addictive. If you're hooked, you can go through withdrawal. Do I care? Nope. Love my coffee. Okay, so maybe I'll consider decaf.

Finally, it's ready and I take a sip. Ahhh. I stay in the kitchen and finish the cup and pour myself another one. No more headache. And I feel human again. I grab one of Bart's sandwiches and walk out. The guys are talking about something and stop when I step into the room. They all turn and look at me.

"What?"

End


End file.
